1218

Spring

Gauntlet, Part I

Early in March, the magi of the Greater Alps traditionally travel to the covenant of Terragon Vale for the three-day Liberalia festival. But the day before the festival was to begin, the Quaesitors and Hoplites of Icy North noticed an intense and sudden storm formed by Infernal power. Gathering the Grogs and fighting custos, they left Icy North on the warpath.

Soon thereafter, Garcette summoned Rene and Gustov with news: an alarm placed by the Quaesitors at Terragon Vale had activated; someone had intruded into that covenant. The trio decided to act, splitting up to gather their allies. Garcette went to the Shadow of the Moon, where Breandan secured permission from Diana to investigate, and Cassidy was found largely abandoned by her domina, who had retreated to the lab in the wake of her recent failure to find a path to the Moon through Arcadia. Rene traveled to Sinews of Knowledge to speak with Balbina and Eva, and found Balbina very reluctant to do anything to help her fellow magi. However, she gave Eva leave to go. Gustov traveled to the Tower of Solomon, informed Innocentius and visited with Klara, with everyone soon reuniting at Icy North. Innocentius knew the Portal Arch key for Terragon Vale after spending a season there with Sebastien years ago and everyone swiftly traveled there, with Rene's four Grogs and Gustov's dogs in tow.

Arriving at dusk, the apprentices immediately saw a group of people clustered in front of the main building of Terragon Vale, the front doors of which appeared to be broken open. These individuals were quickly identified as the Terragon Heirs, three magi whose parens were residents of Terragon Vale for the Vanishing Away. Marcus of Bonisagus, Brigid of Flambeau, and Roderick of Tytalus were accompanied by their familiars and shield grogs, and the two groups made peaceful contact. They had met each other years before when the Heirs came to plead their case before Tribunal, but they had been unsuccessful and the resources of Terragon Vale continued to be kept in trust by Quaesitores. The Heirs were here to investigate the covenant. They had arrived to find the doors broken open.

Initial investigation revealed that a modest-sized dragon had apparently invaded the building. The Heirs suggested the apprentices remain outside for a time and entered, observed from afar by some of the apprentices, including Breandan, Cassidy and Innocentius. The dragon appeared to be in the great hall which dominated the first and second floors of the structure, but the Terragon Heirs, under cover of invisibility, went up the stairs and mostly avoided the creature, though they were eventually detected. Rather than engage it, they fled through a door to the magi's quarters.

This left the apprentices in debate over how to proceed. By now, some of the apprentices were suspicious of the "Terragon Heirs." Marcus's familiar had been spotted, and it was a two-headed eagle, certainly Infernal in nature. Other strange behavior -- such as Brigid's peculiar interest in Innocentius and the behavior of Roderick's dog familiar when Gustov tried to speak to it -- led the apprentices to theorize that the "Heirs" were, in fact, the Shadow Magi in disguise. The apprentices decided to enter the hall and try to speak with the dragon.

The conversation was brief but informative. The dragon, whose name was revealed to be Nemesis, was the offspring of a greater dragon who had made this location its home when the magi of Terragon Vale first came here. They defeated the dragon, part of the founding myth of the covenant, and Nemesis had come seeking revenge. (While this was not noticed or apparent at the time, Terragon Vale was usually protected by an Aegis cast by the Quaeitores of Icy North. Away on their errand, they were not here to recast the spell when it expired, the day before the Liberalia. The collapse of the Aegis and the Shrouded Glen is what allowed Nemesis to both spot and enter the covenant grounds.) Most of the apprentices fled the dragon, which was willing to kill all of them, but Rene, predictably, used Hermetic magic to grow to tremendous size and attack.

The battle that resulted was confusing and long. One of Rene's grogs, Donal, came to the aid of his master, caught some sprayed blood from the dragon, and died from poison. Rene had early success, seriously injuring the monster, but took burns and lesser injuries from its teeth and claws. Other apprentices used illusions and other magic to try to distract the beast, and some had success using Terram magic to pick up large pieces of furniture in the hall and hurl them at the dragon with great force. It's Magical Might made most spells useless against it, but finally it was incapacitated when Garcette used Ominous Levitation of the Weighty Stone to pick up the covenant's hearth and drop it on the dragon's head. Rene delivered the killing stroke and promptly fell unconscious from exhaustion.

Meanwhile, Innocentius and Cassidy had snuck off to find the Terragon Heirs. In their sneaking around, they overheard the Heirs investigating the covenant library and themselves located the Mappamundi, a research project of Terragon Vale which was a map that served as an arcane connection to anywhere in the world. Cassidy noticed a marker on the map in the Greater Alps with the symbol of Bonisagus on it, and which corresponded to no covenant or chapter house. Innocentius found the council chamber and the records of the last council meeting. Slowly the two of them put together the sequence of events:

Decades ago, Socratinus of Bonisagus, a senior magus of Terragon Vale, discovered the location of the Cave of Bonisagus in his research for the Mappamundi. He secured permission from the council to mount an expedition, but that same day the people of Terragon Vale began to vanish. The covenfolk went first and the magi last, with the most powerful lingering the longest. Innocentius and Cassidy were joined by the other apprentices -- Rene barely managing to stagger along with Eva's help. There was no sign of the Terragon Heirs. Soon, they each began to vanish. Eva was one of the last to go, and sent a desperate message back to Sinews of Knowledge with spontaneous magic, but when she vanished only Innocentius remained. He could feel his Parma keeping the curse at bay, and he quickly returned to the corpse of the dragon and, using magic, cut open its body to remove its 50 pound heart, containing six pawns of vis. Intending to use this as a cathach for a Hibernian covenant, he had barely enough time to finish his work before he, too, vanished.

Gauntlet, Part II

Swept up in a strange magical storm, the apprentices are swept into a vast cave along with the "Terragon Heirs." But something has caused all magical effects on the apprentices and the Heirs to end prematurely, and this effect reveals the Heirs's disguises. Marcus, Brigid and Roderick are, in fact, Grigori, Caterina and Hermia. Grigori, Gideon and Ilsa have been disguised as grogs, while Martin and another young woman -- presumably another apprentice -- were turned into familiar animals. But the apprentices have only enough time to see their enemies before they fall into darkness and sleep.

Eva and Garcette awaken first, with no sign of the others. They are in the cave complex, and decide to investigate the nearby sound of water. They find Hermia and Martin investigating an underground river and small boat, tied to a makeshift dock. Spotted by Martin, Eva feigns happiness to see him again and promptly crushes his skull with her war hammer when he is distracted. Garcette rushes Hermia with her longsword, but the shapechanger is able to transport herself out of the way by fast-casting. Hermia tries to bargain for her life and transforms into a raven, but Eva rushes her and, with a lucky shot, crushes the raven in a single blow. Hermia collapses to the ground, dead. The two loot the corpses and then retreat, seeking the others and abandoning the boat.

Innocentius awakens next. He is alone. Staying to the shadows, he explores the caves until he finds a library filled with scrolls and bearing the inscription of the legendary Library of Alexandria. His second sight allows him to see Caterina, who is invisible, searching the room's contents. He approaches her and they are reunited. Their conversation is friendly and admiring, with Caterina proud of the man which Innocentius has become and he, in turn, noting that she never did anything wrong to him, and he would like to see her escape this confrontation. They investigate the papyrus scrolls and conclude that they appear to be salvaged from the Great Library. Most are in Ancient Greek and date to the first century BC. Innocentius throws a half dozen of the most valuable in a bucket and he and Caterina part on good terms, with the hope to see each other again one day.

Gustov awakens next. Rene is unconscious next to him, but is soon awakened with Corpus magic. Injured and exhausted, Rene is able to use Bind Wounds and Endurance of the Berserkers on himself, thanks to the incredible magic aura of the caves. Now able to walk, he and Gustov explore the catacombs and swiftly discover the entrance cave. This is a very large oval shaped cavern with many tunnels leading off. The mouth of the cave does not reveal sunlight or the night sky but, instead, a never-ending storm of magical energy. By now Gustov has found a corpse -- one of the grogs of Terragon Vale -- and donned his armor as a precaution. Guarding the cave mouth is Magni, who spots Rene's Palm of Flame and looks determined to attack, but Gustov persuades him to hesitate, suggesting they will all need to work together if they are to survive. In the ensuing conversation, Magni makes no secret that he considers Gustov and Rene to be weaklings he could certainly kill, but something about Gustov persuades him not to try at this time. Rene and Gustov withdraw to find the others.

Breandan and Cassidy awaken last. As they begin to cast spells on each other to make navigation and stealth easier, Breandan is overwhelmed by the tremendous magical forces at play in the caves; swept up in the first visible instance of his magical addiction, he begins casting spontaneous magic of greater and greater magnitude. When Cassidy tries to put him to sleep with Call to Slumber, she botches and the spell reverberates on herself. She collapses asleep, Breandan's addiction escalates, and shortly after successfully turning the entire cave complex momentarily transparent -- so that he can see infinite magical power in all directions -- he too collapses unconscious. Cassidy awakens and waits (im)patiently for Breandan to wake up, which takes about an hour. Now barely able to stand and walk, Breandan follows Cassidy's lead and the two of them, invisible, investigate the tunnels seeking their friends. They find living chambers: a spacious cavern with a magnificent bed with purple coverlet and canopy, decorated with arcane symbols. A few book stands, cabinets, and other pieces of furniture decorate the room, and a large sanctum marker is carved into the solid rock of the far wall. Gideon and the young woman -- soon revealed to be his apprentice, Incantata -- are exploring the room. Cassidy and Breandan sneak through the chamber into a side room, where they find an altar to Hecate. As they piece together the clues as to where they are -- Bonisagus's personal chambers, where he dwelt with Trianoma and her sister before the sister fled and Trianoma became Bonisagus's lover -- Incantata persuades Gideon to have sex on Bonisagus's bed, citing its mystcal potency as "the place where the Order of Hermes was engendered." Cassidy and Breandan watch from the altar room and debate their next course of action. Breandan, exhausted, vetoes her idea to impersonate Bonisagus and Trianoma, then leaves it to Cassidy to decide what to do. They sneak away, back down the hall they came through, in search of the others. Gideon and Incantata continue their lovemaking with enthusiasm.

The apprentices regroup outside the entrance chamber, exchange stories, and compare their discoveries. There is some argument over what to do next, with Eva and Garcette most in favor of tracking down the other Shadow Magi -- starting with Gideon and Incantata, as easy targets -- and killing them. Innocentius is not in favor of this plan. Rene and Breandan are both exhausted, injured, or both. Gustov spots the return of Grigori, Ilsa, and Cerberus, who rejoin Magni at the cave mouth and converse. Soon, Grigori calls out to the apprentices, who are all invisible by this time, and their is a conversation.

Grigori outlines what has happened: over the centuries, the Cave of Bonisagus has been drawn into the Magical Realm. In the process, the wards Bonisagus placed on the caves have become warped and transformed into a curse: whoever learns of the Cave's location is transported to it. The covenfolk of Terragon Vale came here decades ago and starved to death for lack of food and water. The only way out is to take the cave mouth, which opens into the Twilight Void, and navigate it home. Perhaps the Terragon Vale magi did this. If so, they have not yet returned. Grigori gives his regards to Innocentius while insulting the others, especially Rene, whom he calls "Rene discipulus Oafus." But with Cerberus leading the way, Grigori takes Ilsa by the hand and steps into the Void.

At that moment, Eva, invisible, charges Ilsa and breaks her grip on her master's hand. Enraged and crying out for Grigori, Ilsa is thrown to the ground with Eva, who is seriously wounded by Ilsa's Pilum of Fire. Magni, who was bringing up the rear, is forced to choose between following Grigori or saving Ilsa, and chooses his master, following Grigori through the Void. Breandan transports himself there with Wizard's Leap. Innocentius runs up, intending to throw Ilsa into the Void. Rene, who can't see anyone except Ilsa thanks to the Veil of Invisibility all the apprentices wear, tries Arc of Fiery Ribbons but Ilsa's Parma resists it. Innocentius, Breandan and Eva are all caught in the flames, but avoid harm through Parma or luck. Garcette charges and kicks Ilsa with all her strength, trying to knock the girl out so she can be captured and returned to the Order, but Ilsa stumbles backwards and falls towards the Void. Breandan is the only person who could catch her, but he refuses to do so. Ilsa falls into the Void and is gone.

Now alone in the Cave, the apprentices rest and debate their options. They gather the most useful scrolls from the Alexandrian Room and the half dozen old books left behind in Bonisagus's sanctum. Gideon, Incantata, and Caterina are all gone, as is the boat; presumably they have taken it. Gustov shrinks the dragon heart down to the size of a pinecone for easy transport. With Innocentius leading the way thanks to his second sight, the apprentices form a human chain and set off through the Twilight Void.

Their travel takes only seconds. They find themselves in Sebastien's abandoned sanctum in the covenant of Sinews of Knowledge. They have survived, and return to the Alps with tales of glory.

Summer, Autumn, and Winter

After fighting a dragon, discovering the Cave of Bonisagus, solving the mystery of the Vanishing Away and confronting a coven of infernalists, the remaining year and a half of apprenticeship is comparatively dull.